No one buys a mutual fund expecting to lose money. But investors in one popular group of stock funds are doing just that.

Research shows that global-stock funds forfeit more than 2% a year in additional returns, largely because their go-anywhere portfolios don’t go far enough.

Global funds are geographically disperse, but generally don’t hold enough stocks to tap the full power of that diversification. Accordingly, global investors would do better to hold several single-country or specialized regional funds.

INVESTING NEWS & TRENDS

This popular fund group is losing you money

Global-stock mutual funds have become extremely popular investments. But these funds — which invest in companies located anywhere in the world — aren't well-diversified and lose investors more than 2% a year on average in additional returns. This popular fund group is losing you money.

Time to buy bear-market funds?

For investors who are at the market’s peak but who are nervous about a possible pullback, a bear-market fund would seem to make a lot of sense. Time to buy bear-market funds?

3 investing rules to rescue your retirement

Burton Malkiel and Charley Ellis, two vocal proponents of index investing, have 3 investing rules for what they expect will be a lengthy period of below-average total returns from stocks 3 investing rules to rescue your retirement.

New ETFs muzzle an untamed market

Providers of exchange-traded funds are high on low-volatility products. Columnist John Prestbo wonders if investors should be as enthusiastic. New ETFs muzzle an untamed market.

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